HTC Evo 3D - Multimedia, Apps and Verdict

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The HTC Evo 3D doesn’t hold up all that well when it comes to general multimedia, either. It didn’t recognise the MOV, MKV or DivX files we threw at it, all of which the Samsung Galaxy S II can cope with – you’ll have to convert your files into .mp4 or .avi to have any luck. Most image formats are handled fine, though more typically fancy audio formats like FLAC aren’t supported. There’s also a tiny amount of hiss during quiet moments. The loud speaker doesn’t particularly make up for this either with a very middling performance with bass lacking and overall volume limited. At least you get a quick player appear in the notifications bar and lock screen when music’s playing.

When it comes to the more serious side of life, the Evo 3D comes up smelling of roses, though. Making and taking calls and managing your contacts is easy thanks to the inherent powers of Android and the social networking integration HTC has added. It’s near-effortless to bring together all your Facebook, Twitter, email and phone contacts into one easy-to-read entry.

HTC has also added a few apps of its own including its Watch video download service. This is a reasonably easy to use service with a few premium titles on offer but overall the selection is still far off being sufficient. There’s also HTC’s decent ebook reader called Reader and HTC Likes, a portal for apps that HTC has either developed or recommends. None are exactly compelling.

Call quality threw up not causes for concern while all the basics like GPS worked well, and signal reception seemed on par with the smarpthone norm. What did let the side down was battery life. The combination of that 3D screen, the size of said screen, and the sheer power of the phone means this is a device you’ll simply have to charge every night. In contrast many other high-end smartphones will last a couple of days if you’re not too heavy a user.

”’Verdict”’

The HTC Evo 3D is clearly a very capable handset, packing-in just about every current key feature, including of course its 3D camera and screen. As such it ranks very highly if you’re simply after a top-spec powerhouse. However, we’re just not wholly convinced. Obviously there’s the plain fact that 3D is a bit of a gimmick, and that the 2D camera quality suffers because of it. The styling and size of the phone also put us off slightly too. And finally we find HTC’s implementation of Android more and more cumbersome, with it refusing to keep things simple. Unless you’re desperate for a fully 3D future there are better alternatives.